Customers

U.S. Lawmakers Probing Wells Fargo Scandal Blast Arbitration Pacts

Wells Fargo & Co customers aiming to sue the bank over bogus accounts opened in their names may be in for an unpleasant surprise: the fine print requires them to take their claims to an arbitrator instead of a court. Continue Reading Below Mandatory arbitration rules inserted into account-opening agreements prohibit customers from joining class actions or suing the third-largest U.S. bank in …


Did State Farm Bankroll Judge? Customers’ Claim Is Now Class Action

Some customers of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. claim the company conspired to help elect an Illinois Supreme Court candidate so he could vote to throw out a $1 billion award against the company. Now they will be able to bring their case as a group. A federal judge on Sept. 16 ruled that 4.7 million State Farm policyholders can band together to sue the insurer for allegedly lying …


Costco Faces Lawsuit Over Improper Sales Tax Collection

A New Jersey couple on Friday filed a class-action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale, alleging that the warehouse retailer is illegally charging sales tax on toilet tissues — a product exempt from the state’s 7% sales tax — CNBC reports. Jacqueline Taufield and Robert Arnold say that they were charged sales tax when they bought Charmin toilet tissue on July 26, 2015 from a Costco location in …


HSBC Wins Dismissal of Madoff Customer Class Action in U.S.

Jonathan Stempel| NEW YORK NEW YORK HSBC Holdings Plc on Thursday won the dismissal of a lawsuit by former Bernard Madoff customers who accused the British bank of fuelling his massive Ponzi scheme by ignoring red flags and encouraging “feeder funds” to invest with him. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said a federal law governing securities fraud cases prevented the …


DWP Customers Will Have to Keep Waiting for Refunds

L.A. Department of Water and Power officials announced more than a year ago that they would refund tens of millions of dollars to Angelenos who were overbilled because of a faulty computer system. But customers are still waiting and it will be 2017 before they see any money. Under a $44-million proposed class-action settlement announced in August 2015, customers were to receive a refund or …



LADWP Class Action Settlement on Behalf of Overbilled Customers Has Grown to Nearly $50 Million

The landmark class action settlement reached with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) on behalf of overbilled customers has now grown to nearly $50,000,000. Consumer rights attorney Jack Landskroner, of Landskroner Grieco Merriman, said today: “Our efforts, have already identified an additional $5,400,000 due back to customers who were overbilled since the settlement with …


The iPhone 7 Is Only Five Days Old and a Class Action Has Already Begun Over Apple’s Upgrade Program

Apple introduced the new iPhone 7 last Wednesday. It took only five days for Block & Leviton LLP to announce that they’ve filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. on behalf of Apple customers who signed up for the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program last year and have now been shut out of receiving the latest iPhones. Their press release states that “On September 7, 2016, Apple announced the …


Welspun Lawsuit – Fake Egyptian Cotton Sheets

Egyptian cotton is characterized by extra-long fibers that are used to produce high quality products, including sheets and pillow cases. Consumers pay a premium price because this particular type of cotton is superior in quality to other cottons. The fabric is light-weight, smooth and feels …


Subway ‘Footlong’ Settlement Gets Appeals Court Grilling

A federal appeals court on Thursday cast doubt on the legitimacy of a settlement resolving claims that Subway tricked customers by selling “Footlong” subs that were less than a foot long. A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago heard arguments on a challenge by prominent class-action critic Ted Frank, who said the settlement gave too much money to lawyers and no …